Photographic studios use backdrops containing various scenery pictures or color patterns as backgrounds for the portraits they create. As there are different occasions for having portraits taken and as people's tastes vary widely, portrait studios usually offer a variety of backdrop scenes. In studios using changeable backdrops, the backdrops are typically laid directly upon one another and then wound upon a single shaft suspended from the ceiling or other elevated structure. When a desired backdrop is needed, the backdrops are unwound from the shaft with the desired backdrop in front, all others being flipped over to unroll and hang behind the selected backdrop. Alternately, each backdrop is sometimes mounted on an individual roll with the rolls then mounted horizontally adjacent to one another.
The former system is quite bulky, heavy to manipulate and requires physical access to the roll in order to flip the undesired backdrops behind the roll as the desired backdrop is unrolled. The latter system has the disadvantage of requiring a large amount of overhead space. Moreover, since the shafts are typically mounted horizontally with respect to one another, if more than one or two backdrops are used, some will be noticeably further back from or closer to the photographic subject than others. As distances are very important in portrait photography (since they affect both focus and lighting), these nonuniform distances between the subjects and camera and the backdrops can produce unwanted photographic effects.
In an effort to solve these problems, some have tried connecting a series of backdrops end to end to form a continuous web. As indicated in U. S. Pat. No. 3,128,688, such a web is usually wound between two shafts to form a scroll. These backdrop roller devices, however, typically require an operator to manually maneuver the backdrops into position. This process is not only time-consuming, but it also introduces the possibility of human error as the operator attempts to correctly position a desired backdrop behind the subjects (particularly important for scenic backdrops which must be positioned exactly at the right height). Backdrops for these devices are also typically longer than necessary to allow for a reduction in the precision in locating the backdrop. The longer backdrops required more fabric and are thus more costly to manufacture. Furthermore, those devices in which the web hangs down from the shafts will frequently be improperly wound upon the shafts when the web is raised due to the twisting of the web that occurs as it is lowered and hangs free. A web that is improperly wound up upon a shaft will have a shortened life span and can tear or jam the shaft.
Prior attempts to solve the twisting problem include securing the lower portion of the web as shown in U. S. Pat. No. 596,312. Many photographic studios, however, use a neutral permanent backdrop located behind the changeable ones and such a solution has the disadvantage of not allowing the permanent backdrop to be used.
All of the above devices are less efficient because they require the attention of the photographer to operate the backdrop device and because of the added time needed to correctly position the backdrops. A need exists, therefore, for a photographic backdrop device that is capable of containing a large number of various scenes, but which can quickly, correctly and continuously position the scenes behind the posing subjects.